Imina finds perfect distribution partner for North America

The Micromanipulator of Imina Technologies, a spin-off company of EPFL, will be distributed in North America by Nanoscience Instruments, Inc. "The miBot manipulator is an exciting addition to our portfolio of nano and microscale metrology products," says Mark Flowers, Nanoscience Instruments' co-founder. "Being able to see at the nanoscale is important, but adding the ability to manipulate and sense at this scale opens up new dimensions and possibilities."
 
Imina Technologies’ miBot is more than a conventional nanomanipulator. Virtually untethered, it is free to move independently, enabling interaction with micro- and nano-sized samples in a way which has never been achieved before. With four degrees of freedom, this mobile micro-robot provides nanometer-precision displacements and large travel ranges of several centimeters. Since the motion directions of the miBot are aligned with its natural axes, even complex manipulations are intuitive to perform. And, as it does not require mounting screws, total set-up time is a matter of a few minutes.
 
"We are thrilled to be working with Nanoscience Instruments," says Imina Technologies CEO Benoît Dagon. "Their experience in atomic force microscopy and nanoscience applications makes them a partner of choice to distribute the miBot and provide high quality support to our North American customers." In fact, the flexible nature of the miBot and its extreme compact design enable use in combination with AFMs as well as under optical microscopes and in SEM/FIB chambers. Vacuum ready, the miBots’ proprietary monolithic structure makes them robust, mechanically and thermally stable, and less sensitive to vibration. Moreover, the novel tool holder of the miBot BT-11 accepts a variety of tools such as conductive probes and optical fibers. In addition to manipulating the sample, miBots can conduct electrical measurements and illuminate a nano workspace.
 
Imina Technologies brings to the market more than a decade of research in high precision robotics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland (EPFL). Founded in 2009, the interdisciplinary team has developed a unique matrix of experience in precision engineering, micro-robotics and nanomanipulation which enables Imina Technologies to propose complete solutions for even the most specific applications. The company was awarded with the CTI Start-up Label in 2011.
 
Nanoscience Instruments provides a wide array of products and services for nanoscience at universities, government laboratories, and industrial R&D facilities around the world. Product offerings include atomic force microscopes, scanning electron microscopes, 3D optical profilometers, manipulation systems and accessories for these and other high-resolution microscopy techniques. Nanoscience offers a broad line of consumables and fabrication devices that includes AFM probes, CNT synthesis devices, chemicals for surface modification, STM supplies and teaching materials & samples.